Hi friend!
How are you doing? Great, I hope.
Missed you yesterday. Actually, I’ve missed ya for the last week or so! Connor’s been home all week long (no dance camp), so between blowing bubbles and chasing her around outside, I’ve had a ton of deadlines to meet. I’ve been typing like a maniac, especially in the wee hours!
I’m low-key overwhelmed, but one thing helping me see the bright side is a quote from legendary tennis player Billie Jean King who once said, “Pressure is a privilege.”
When I start to feel a heavy weight on my chest, I try to remind myself there was a time, not too long ago, when I deeply longed for a child, and I wondered if I’d ever be lucky enough to raise one.
And I also think about all those times I wasn’t sure if I could actually turn writing about beauty into a thing.
It’s always better after I check myself, you know?
Anywho, thank you for listening.
I swear, this post really is about shaving legs!
In the shower this morning, I shaved my legs for the first time in a week. While de-fuzzing my gams, I got to thinking about when I started. I think I was in eighth grade?
I remember wanting to shave when I was younger, though, like sixth or seventh grade, and mentioning it to my mom a few times, but she’d always deflect the conversation by saying that she never shaved her legs, so why did I need to?
She wasn’t a girly girl, so when it came to anything related to beauty, I was on my own! Well, I also had magazines and the often misguided advice of my friends, but that’s another story.
I remember being at my locker one day, and a friend looked at my legs in my plaid green shorts and asked if I forgot to shave that morning. I don’t remember what my answer was, but shortly after that, I started sneaking my dad’s disposable razors in the shower to shave.
Connor actually mentioned a while back how she thought her legs looked hairy, and asked me when she thought she might start shaving!
I was like, “Girl, you’re only 7!” Then, I proceeded to tell her that once she was on the shave train, there was no going back. (“You’ll be shaving for the rest of your life. THAT’S A REALLY LONG TIME.”)
I think she eventually forgot about it, so I’m hoping we’ll have a few more years before it comes up again in middle school.
At that time, I’ll be happy to walk her through it, and I plan to buy her own special razors and whatnot. I grew up in a very no-nonsense house and so having toiletries and beauty things that were just for me was a completely foreign concept. I’d like it to be different for her.
Which leads me to today’s beauty question. When did you start shaving your legs? Did you have someone to help you learn? Or did you do it on your own?
Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,
Karen
This is funny…because I was just thinking about this. My daughter is 9 and will start 4th grade next year. She has also mentioned shaving🤪. My hair is naturally dark and my husband’s family is from Thailand…so her hair is a darker shade than many of her peers. I think I started back in 4th or 5th grade with an electric razor. My mom just gave it to me without any instructions. My mother is a complete tomboy. She had all brothers growing up and never wore makeup. So…Cosmo magazines and a teenage girl down the street brought me into the beauty world.
I don’t remember when I started regularly shaving my legs but I distinctly remember the first time. I was 10yo and we were on a family vacation to Disney World. For some reason when I donned my teal Guess denim shorts that morning I decided I needed to shave. So I grabbed my Mom’s disposable razor (you know-the pink ones) and proceeded to shave my dry legs at the sink-sans soap or any shave cream! Needless to say it didn’t go well and my skin was so irritated. Which mixed beautifully with Florida heat.
I don’t remember conversations about shaving though. I guess I asked my friends (maybe my mom) and figured it out! I’ve finally found a shaving routine in the past 2 years that works well for my skin. If I don’t follow it my legs become insanely itchy within 2 days of shaving.
This does remind me of a scene on the Golden Girls where they’re talking about shaving. Rose is shocked that Blanche shaves above the knee and asks her what she thinks that says to men. Blanche responds: Hopefully it says touch my leg.
HA!
Megan, you had me at “teal Guess denim shorts” and then closed the deal with a Golden Girls story. This comment was a smile from beginning to end. HAHA!
Awww. Thanks, Kim! 😊
I remember being 12 and only shaving the FRONT of my lower legs. Love The Golden Girls
I’m glad you’ve been able to spend the week with Connor – you’ll remember that much more than any deadline. 🙂
I feel like my leg shaving began in middle school, too. I’m sure I used one of my mother’s disposable razors but don’t remember it being a thing. I’m not too hairy, so I don’t need to shave above the knee, thankfully. We won’t talk about my very poor shaving habits during “pants” season, which is about 10 months of the year here. HAHA!
Speaking of your family, I thought of you the other day because one of the boys mentioned the Black Eyed Peas song Bebot, which I’d never heard. The video immediately made me think of you and some of your stories. 🙂 I mean, plus you’re a hot chick and all!
I understand it’s stressful for you, but how wonderful it is for Connor to have your attention. She’ll have so many memories when she grows older. I’m so happy for you that you’re able to write about beauty for living.
I think I remember asking my mom if I could shave somewhere around 7th grade, but she said I didn’t need to and that was that because you didn’t argue with my mom. The summer between 8th grade and high school the girl across the street who was my age came over while I was reading on the porch and ran her hand across my leg and said, “You really need to shave.” She was the third of four sisters and her two older sisters were very glam. My mom used an electric razor which I wasn’t going to borrow. My Dad was going to the store and I asked if I could go along. He got some groceries and I got him to buy me some disposable razors and a can of Neet or Nair. I tried the depilatory first. Since I had fine, light colored hair it worked ok, but the smell. Oof! After that I shaved with soap. I hid it from my mom until about Soph year when she noticed and said something. Oh well…
I think I was about 9 years old, and my skinny little legs were fairly fuzzy (not dark hair, just lots of peach fuzz). Mom had an old electric razor in a pink plastic case and that’s what I used for a few years until I felt comfortable enough to try an actual razor! Lol. She showed me how to do it and told me I would have to keep doing it once I started, so I wasn’t too sure about it at first!
Out of sheer boredom I started shaving my legs at age twelve. (Imagine Sophia Petrillo speaking.) Picture it: Western Massachusetts. Summer, 1986. I was watching TV…something fashion related and I looked at my legs and saw, maybe a couple random hairs poking out. I went and got my mom’s razor and just started shaving in the living room. My legs got real itchy afterward and I felt foolish for not asking my mother for help. But I also felt this sense of maturity because I had just started menstruating and shaving my legs felt like a natural progression in the coming of age process. I didn’t shave again for a couple of years. I’m lucky that the hair on my legs is so sparse that I really don’t need to shave–ever. But I do keep my local European Wax Center in business with other areas.
I was 12-13. My one sister in law asked me how old I was because she was hoping to use me as an argument to get her mom to let her shave her legs. She was 11 (I was 25) and she was very disappointed with my answer. I was like, ‘kid you are blonde! Trust me wait as long as you can. Come see me when you have leg hair as dark as mine’. I’m a very dark brunette and as I like to say, I’m a brunette everywhere! If you choose to shave, it is a daily thing
Started waxing in grade 8. Shaving wasn’t a thing back then.
Moved to Canada, started shaving. 🙂
With fine red hair, I have never had much body hair so I didn’t start shaving my legs until I was about 13 or 14. One thing no one ever told me is once you get well past menopause you quit getting much hair on your legs (and a lot of what’s on your head wants to abandon ship as well). So I rarely have to shave. The only nice part of menopause.